I ran my new old school pan today.

[Gold Rover]

I've not been on the site for awhile due to life getting in the way of prospecting for the past year. The Rover went down late in the summer, keeping me from getting into the good places and other things conspired to keep me out of the water. But today, during a January thaw here in Colorado, I took my new metal pan down to the river just to get some panning time and to test it against my Estwing plastic pan.

I loved everything about the metal pan except being able to see the fine gold, which is all there is near me. Working the metal pan was fast and efficient. I realize that the riffles in the modern pans have there plus side, but I really like the smooth pan a lot. I ended up panning to black sand in the metal pan, then finishing in the black plastic pan. The metal pan really gives you a good indicator of your panning technique.

I found a few flakes like I always do in this spot, so I guess that I wasn't dumping color back into the water.

At the end of the season I came into some decent gold outside of Leadville, so I'm fidgeting for the thaw and a chance to get my sluices up and running there.

 

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[arizau]

Something you may not know about steel gold pans is that they can/should? be seasoned by heating them on a fire, burner or on a bbq grill on high heat. Heat them until they darken, kind of a blue-black color, then let them cool naturally as it may warp if cooled too quickly. This process also would burn off any residual oil that was used during manufacture. If nothing else, it will take the shine off of the pan. The darker pan will make the gold "pop" on the darker background. You should also dry them after use to avoid possible rust. You can possibly restore a rusted pan by scrubbing with fine steel wool and reheating.
Full pans.

PS: I recall reading many years ago that some old timers actually rubbed them with cooking grease then burned it off as above. It kind of makes sense that this may actually darken it even more as the pores may retain the black after they are cooled and cleaned out. I think I remember doing that with my first pan more than 45 years ago.

 

[Gold Rover]

Thanks for your advice! I really liked working with the pan more than I'd expected, but the shine at times almost blinded me. I heated water to boiling and then scrubbed the pan with a scrubbie and soap repeatedly to get rid of the oils before taking it out, but I'm going to darken it now with the grease method.

 

[H&F909ORO]

Usually metal pans would be my last option although It's bias for me to say that. Never used a metal pan before but I have held a few and they seem to be too heavy to handle.

It wouldn't take much time for t hand to tire and give up, especially if you have a lot of dirt in the pan. Is your pan big? The ones I have seen are large and very heavy.

 

[Gold Rover]

Usually metal pans would be my last option although It's bias for me to say that. Never used a metal pan before but I have held a few and they seem to be too heavy to handle.

It wouldn't take much time for t hand to tire and give up, especially if you have a lot of dirt in the pan. Is your pan big? The ones I have seen are large and very heavy.

No, both my pans are small. I need to fit them into a pack and if I need to move more material, I use a sluice. I came across the metal pan and thought that it would be good to at least try it. It was cheap and made in the USA, so I bought it. It seems to take less effort to keep things fluidized, and I like how it quietly washes the top layer of material off.

 

[Gold Rover]

So, I put the metal pan in the oven on high for an hour or so and it turned it a bluish black upon which the gold shows very well. Really have to dry it off once done panning or it will rust before your eyes. I really like the size (it fits inside a 5 gal. bucket) and it seems to work as well as the plastic pan with riffles as far as keeping the gold goes.

 

[Capricorn]

I got a metal pan a while back to try. The only issue I had with it is the difference in thermal conductivity between metal and plastic. The cold water makes the metal pan too cold for me to hold comfortably, meanwhile the plastic pan stays the same temp and feels fine..

 

[arizau]

Panning with a smooth sided pan is just as capable of catching gold as the more modern plastic pans. The riffles may shorten the learning curve for beginners and may in fact speed up the process a little bit but when it comes down to finish panning the really fine gold the smooth side of a pan allows you to reduce the quantity of material in the pan by washing it out rather than keep trapping it in the riffles as some inexperienced panners do. Experienced panners will use the smooth side of a riffled pan for finish panning.

 

[Capricorn]

I've found I actually really like the blue pans with the normal riffle traps, and then the small section of riffle traps that are about the size of deep v matting. You can clean it up kinda quickly on the big traps, then clean it a few times on the small riffles and really get it panned down quick. I have used the smooth sides a few times too.

 

[hunterbill]

Metal pans are great for digging with in those "pans and hands" only places. I use the 4 & 6" pans to scrape at the bedrock, bigger ones to shove under boulders. They are thin and flex a bit so you can really work 'em down deep in the gravel. Also, they go on the fire from time to time for various reasons and look cool in photos too. Metal pans have many advantages over the plastic ones. Just not when it comes to actually panning for gold. I stick to the plastic w' traps for washing the pay.

 

[Desert_Rat]

I've been using a small and medium metal pan for about 5 years. The way I blue a pan is sos pad, wipe with mineral oil, bake or put in hot grill. Repeat two or three time. Then wash with dish soap. It will get a nice dark blue tint and you'll be able to see the gold. Enjoy the old school.

 

[Duckwalk]

ive got a massive no named 17" metal pan that moves material like a damn bulldozer. i use it to take big quanities of material down to much less. Right before i start seeing blacksand, i dump it in a coffee container or a Tupperware container and save it for later. Makes me tired but works material much faster than my 15" garret pan. im afraid if i put too much sand and dirt in the garret pan, it would bend and flex and eventually snap.

 

[dashriprock]

The first time I panned for gold back in the early 70's steel pans were what was being used. Yeah most were big ones and were awkward and made my arms sore....I learned quick to not put so much material in the pan. Course I was 13 and my arms weren't used to that sort of thing. With each pan it got easier.
When plastic pans came out I thought.. wow ..I'll be able to really pan now. I like my plastic pans and the added riffles are nice along with less weight but I still carry an old metal pan with me. Once I was out, got up early and grabbed my fly rod and hit the stream to try and catch me some breakfast. Ended up catching a nice trout, cleaned it, was all happy until I got back to camp and found I hadn't brought my cast iron skillet along. Already had killed the fish and I didn't feel like putting it on a stick so....you guessed it...had my old metal pan and breakfast was fantastic. Old school pans have their place and I'm glad you like yours!

 

[goldenmojo]

I too did not have the arm strength at 13 to work a pan like that. By 16 though I could pan one handed. Frying a trout in a steel pan would be the ultimate in camping adventures. Might have to try that.

 

[dashriprock]

Yeah it was pretty cool. I had brought a box of crackers....chicken in a bisket as I recall..and a few cans of snap e tom tomato juice but that was it. Could've used a potato, an onion, maybe an egg or two, a fork, little salt and pepper but I hadn't figured on much to eat cause I only mean't to prospect that sunday afternoon then head back home. I got into some killer looking bedrock that had been covered with about 3 feet of gravel and had nice cracks in it and having to work the next day at 2;30...swingshift.. and also knowing I wouldn't be able to come back till the next weekend plus those cracks would be scratched clean by others before I got back. Only got a couple hours rest before work but it was worth it. Found 1 nugget the size of a sweet pea with a little quartz on it..half a dozen nice 1/8" flakes and enough smaller pieces that all together just about covered the bottom of my snuffer bottle. One of my better prospecting adventures/memories thats for sure. Still have that nugget somewhere.

 

[goldenIrishman]

I've used a lot of different pans over the years, both metal and plastic. I like both types but they have to fit in my hand well for me to really like them. The green plastic ones that GPAA sends with the membership kit are too tall to be comfortable to me, but a Garrett Gravity Trap fits my hand perfectly. Years ago I had some black plastic pans that had riffles as well as a built in arrow shaped trap in the bottom. I really likes those pans and wish i could find some of them again.

I'm going to be getting some new pans when I move up to Kingman. I'm thinking a pair of Gravity traps, a couple of metal ones including a copper pan and some classifiers between 1/30 and 1/100 to finish off my set. I should have the first claim filed within a month of getting there and hope to add a couple more by the end of the summer.

 

[arizau]

I have a copper pan that was sent to me as a gift after I taught a retired couple how to pan at my spot in Greaterville while they were passing through from the upper midwest back in the late 60's. They had no idea about panning but had ordered or picked up their copper pan from Herters (I do not know if they exist anymore) before their trip. They were thrilled and amazed to find some tiny gold. That morning and the unexpected gift of the pan, sent to me after their trip, are etched in my memory. I have not used it but keep it on display. Copper pans were usually coated with mercury and often used by the oldtimers to amalgamate gold from placer concentrates or used in labs for testing mill samples. Old mills incorporated copper amalgam tables in their recovery circuit.

 

[dashriprock]

I received a copper pan from the gpaa when I became a life member. Have never used it. I've always liked the wide botton pans..metal or plastic like the prolines, gpaa over the smaller bottom ones like the garrett. Probably because I used that type for several years after I got hooked on finding gold.

Once I was picking up peoples trash on the way into a claim wanting to see if the water was running in the creek...it was but I had no equipment with me. I did however find an old car wheel cover in the trash I picked up and used it to sample some spots while I was there. A family from Tenn. on vacation in the hills saw me panning and came over to see what I was doing. I told them panning for gold. They watched as I panned and made comment about my unusual pan. I had a little flake and a couple small pieces and maybe 10-15 specks in the pan and showed them. The woman said "is that black hills gold?" I told her yep and she asked if I wanted to sell it and how much. I thought for a moment and told her $20. She couldn't dig the money out of her pocket fast enough. I just gave her the wheel cover and gold and she said she was going to display it in their house like that to show family and friends and tell them how they had met this nice old guy panning for gold with a hubcap and finding it. Don't know if she ever did though. Another great time prospecting for me.

 

[johnedoe]

Well as you already know if you have checked out my posts here http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/panning-gold/453068-ez-gold-pan.html#post4421337 I am partial to the EZ pan.

 

[dashriprock]

I've seen that pan and might pick one up and give it a try. I've panned so much in the past 40+ years that I can pan quick with any pan and feel confident if there's gold in the pan when I start it's still there when I finish. Used to practice fast panning over a wash tub with 5 specks the size of the period after this sentence. Always up for giving new ideas a try though.